Page 3 of Shy Innocent In The Spotlight

CHAPTER TWO

ELSPETHMADEHERway down to one of the main reception rooms in the castle, where the bridal party was gathered for welcome drinks. In spite of her you-can-do-this pep talk earlier, a colony of razor-winged butterflies was attacking the lining of her stomach. She was dressed in one of her twin’s designer outfits—an electric-blue satin sheath of a dress that clung to her body like a long, silky evening glove. The blue made her eyes pop, so too did the smoky make-up she had put on. The dress was way more revealing than any she would normally wear, but, hey, Cinderella had to get used to wearing a sparkly ball gown and glass slippers, right? Her twin’s shoes weren’t made of glass but they were higher than any Elspeth had ever worn before. And they cost more than a month’s wages. She’d had to practise wearing them by doing laps of her bedroom before she ventured downstairs. She had only stumbled once, so she was quite pleased with herself.

Years of watching Elodie get ready for a photo shoot had certainly paid off. Elspeth’s skin was flawless, her eyes highlighted by eyeshadow and eyeliner and lash-lengthening mascara. Her lips were shiny with strawberry-flavoured lip gloss and her pulse points sprayed with a heady musky perfume that had only made her sneeze once. So far.

But, make-up and beautiful clothes notwithstanding, Elspeth knew she was walking a fine line and, at any moment, one misstep could blow her cover. How on earth did undercover agents do this sort of thing day in and day out? It was enough to give you a stomach ulcer.

Elspeth was still a little wide-eyed about spending the weekend in an actual castle. How many people outside royalty owned their very own castle? But that was the sort of wealth Mack MacDiarmid possessed. His ancestry went back centuries and she couldn’t help feeling a little impressed by her surroundings. There were so many rooms, so many stairs, so many turrets it was as if she had stepped inside a fairy tale. The grounds were extensive with both formal and wild gardens, rolling fields and dense woods backdropped by the craggy Highlands. Situated on the shore of a small loch, the estate was picturesque and private, the perfect setting for a wedding. Everything was in tip-top shape. No crumbling walls or sagging ceilings, no draughty corridors with inadequate lighting or heating, no dust sheets draped over furniture or cobwebs hanging from the cornices or the crystal chandeliers. There was even a shiny suit of armour in the gallery, along with huge portraits of previous generations of MacDiarmids. Huge whimsical flower arrangements adorned every room, her own room included. Only the wedding party was staying at the castle but, since she was one of six bridesmaids, she hoped she would be lost in the crowd.

But as soon as she walked into the reception room, Sabine, the bride, rushed over to her.

‘Elodie! You look amazing as always.’ Sabine did the air-kiss thing and stood back to run her gaze over Elspeth’s outfit...well, her twin’s outfit, that was. ‘That blue is so stunning on you. And your make-up is so professional and we haven’t even had the make-up artist, Maggie, do her magic on you yet.’

‘Oh, this old thing?’ Elspeth waved a hand in front of her twin’s outfit in exactly the same dismissive manner Elodie would have used. ‘You look lovely too. I’m sure you’ll be the most gorgeous bride ever.’ Okay, well, maybe her twin wouldn’t have laid on the compliments quite so enthusiastically but Elspeth thought Sabine was a very pretty girl-next-door type who was positively glowing with happiness. It made her wonder if falling in love with the man of her dreams could work the same magic on her. As if. Who was going to fall in love with a girl who couldn’t walk past a bowl of nuts without having a panic attack?

‘I’m so honoured you could find time in your busy schedule to be my bridesmaid,’ Sabine said. ‘It means the world to me. You’re such a fantastic role model at how to look fabulous without even trying.’

Without even trying?Elspeth had to hold back a spluttering laugh. She had been trying to turn herself into a glamour queen for the last two hours. Sheesh. How did her twin do this every day? It was positively exhausting.

‘It’s a privilege to be here,’ Elspeth said with a smile. ‘It’s such a beautiful place to hold a wedding.’

‘I know, right? Mack, Fraser’s brother, was so generous to let us use it,’ Sabine said. ‘Have you had something to eat?’ She beckoned over a waiter who was carrying an array of delicious-looking finger food on a silver tray. ‘These are scrumptious. I’ve had three of them already.’

Elspeth studied the tray of food for a brief moment, deciding against taking anything off it. She had two EpiPens in her clutch purse but the last thing she wanted to do was blow her cover in the first hour by triggering her allergy. She had considered quietly alerting the catering staff to her dietary issue but decided against it. It would draw far more attention to herself than she wanted, especially as there was no record of her twin ever having an allergy. Who knew if a paparazzo was lurking about ready to leak something to the press? It was easier to avoid eating. Besides, she had fresh fruit and nut-free cookies in her suitcase. There was a lot she would do for her twin but starving herself was not one of them. ‘Thank you but I’m not hungry.’

‘No wonder you’re so slim,’ Sabine said with a rueful grimace. ‘I could never be as disciplined as you are. I love my food too much.’ She looked past Elspeth’s shoulder and smiled a broad smile. ‘Let me introduce you to your host and bridal-party partner for the weekend.’ She took Elspeth by the arm and led her to the other side of the room. ‘Mack, this is Elodie Campbell, the famous lingerie model I was telling you about.’

Mack MacDiarmid turned around and met her gaze for the second time that day. A frisson passed over her flesh, her heart rate sped up and her mouth went dry. He was taller than she had calculated—at least six foot four—with broad shoulders and piercing grey-blue eyes framed by prominent eyebrows. His hair was dark brown with one or two threads of silver at the temples giving him a distinguished, old-before-his-years aura. His hair was slightly wavy and casually styled with one or two curls kinked over his forehead, lending him a rakish look that made her heart flutter. His square jaw hadn’t seen a razor in a day or two, which should have made him look unkempt but somehow did the opposite. The designer stubble was rich and dark with a light sprinkling of silver throughout that, if anything, made him even more heart-stoppingly attractive.

‘How do you do?’ Mack held out his hand and she slipped hers into its firm clasp. If his Scottish accent and whisky-rough voice weren’t enough to dazzle her senses, his touch more than completed the job. His skin was dry and warm, his fingers long and tanned, and a zap of electricity shot from his hand to hers with lightning-fast speed.

‘Pleased to meet you.’ Elspeth couldn’t get her voice above more than a scratchy whisper and was aware of scorching heat pooling in her cheeks. Eek. Her twin hadn’t blushed since she was twelve. How convincing was she going to be if her cheeks fired up every time Mack MacDiarmid glanced her way?

Mack released her hand but his gaze remained tethered to hers with an unnerving intensity. ‘Welcome to Crannochbrae.’

‘Thank you. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Scotland. It’s such a beautiful place, especially here in the Highlands. You have a gorgeous home. The gardens are spectacular. You must have millions of bees in total raptures with all those flowers.’ She knew she was talking too much but something about Mack’s commanding presence and unwavering gaze deeply unsettled her. She got the sense he was not easily fooled, not easily deceived, not easily manipulated. She started to question her sanity in agreeing to switch places with her twin. Why had she thought she could do this convincingly? It had been easy to fool their father all those years ago—he had never been able to tell them apart even when they were babies and toddlers, even before he left their mother for another woman when they were five.

But Elspeth got the feeling Mack MacDiarmid was a man who never let anything escape his notice. Every little detail was noted, documented, filed away for reference, for clarification. For close investigative study.

Mack’s gaze narrowed ever so slightly. ‘Didn’t you have a photo shoot on the island of Skye a couple of months ago?’

‘I—I did?’ Elspeth looked at him blankly for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. ‘Oh, yes, I forgot about that, silly me. I do so much travelling I can’t remember where I’ve been or how long ago it was. Yes, of course, Skye was stunningly beautiful.’ Double eek. This was proving to be harder than she had first thought. Her twin was always dashing off to yet another shoot in an exotic location, so it was hard to keep up with her movements. Elspeth vaguely remembered Elodie mentioning something about freezing to death on a Scottish beach modelling next summer’s swimwear range. She tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear and beamed up at him as her twin would have done.

Mack’s smile didn’t make the full distance to his penetrating eyes. ‘You enjoy travelling for work?’

‘Love it. So many places to see, so many people to meet. Of course, it’s not always glamourous. There’s a lot of waiting around on shoots, a lot of time in hair and make-up and living out of a suitcase and so on.’ Elspeth was repeating all the things her twin had told her over the years but even to her own ears, it sounded inauthentic. As if she was playing a part, which she was. Would he see through it? He didn’t seem the type of man to be easily taken in. He was too suave and sophisticated and street smart. Never had she felt more out of her depth. Like a teensy-weensy goldfish flung out of her tiny bowl into a vast ocean of whale sharks.

‘Can I get you something to drink? A cocktail? Champagne? G and T? Wine?’ Mack asked.

Unlike her twin, Elspeth rarely drank alcohol. She had never really developed a taste for it because she so rarely socialised. But she figured it would look odd if she didn’t have what her sister would normally have. Besides, a little Dutch courage might come in handy right now. ‘Champagne would be lovely, thank you.’

Mack moved away to fetch a drink for her and Elspeth took a moment to try and calm her racing pulse. She couldn’t stop following Mack with her gaze, drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain. He was so...so dynamic. So potently, breath-snatchingly attractive. It was as if every other man she had ever met paled in comparison. Not that she had met a lot of men in a dating sense. After her last date when she was eighteen, she had ended up in hospital with anaphylactic shock. Her mother had almost had a breakdown over it and Elspeth hadn’t dated since. But that was why she had moved out of home a month ago, so she could live without her mother hovering and fussing over her as if she were still a child. She wasn’t a child. She was a fully grown adult and could take care of herself. And this weekend was a good chance to prove it, to herself if not her mother.

‘So you’ve finally met my big brother,’ a male voice said in an undertone from close behind her.

Elspeth turned and encountered Fraser MacDiarmid. She recognised him from the photo Elodie had shown her. He was good-looking but not in the same category as his older brother. He was an inch or two shorter and carried a bit more weight around his middle. His jaw wasn’t as strong, his gaze not as direct, his aura not as dynamic. Fraser was bland and boring where his brother, Mack, was compelling and captivating.

‘Oh, hello...’ Elspeth was at a loss to know what else to say. She couldn’t remember if her twin had met Fraser or not and mentally rewound her conversation and text messages with her. Surely it was just the bride Elodie knew? But there was a familiarity about Fraser’s manner towards her—the way he was standing so close, for instance—that suggested he considered her twin far more than a passing acquaintance.

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